Thank You

Hello again. I am so glad that you have decided to join me today for another blog entry. Before I return my blog to discussing items of a financial nature, I would like to use this entry to thank some of the people that helped me through Temple University, my job hunting process, and getting my new job at Delaware Investments.

Mary Stasik - Before my mother passed, she drilled into me the importance of studying hard
Ernest Stasik - Supported all of my decisions and pushed me to work even harder
Christina Mahon - Kept me sane and tidy during my 3am study sessions. You were there for everything.
Vince Stasik - Thanks for being a supportive brother
Tina Duffy - Thanks for being a supportive sister
Pat Duffy - Reminded me to take breaks, even when time was limited
Uncle Francie - True believer!
Erica Nemeth - Listened as I talked about my plans
Megan Rimer - Showed me support, helped me with interviews, and gave me the confidence to succeed
Jena Bandini - Taught me the value of a well timed, handwritten thank-you note
Janis Moore Campbell - Your honest and forceful deconstruction of my early resume and interview techniques helped me grow stronger
James (Jim) McLaughlin - Helped me find new opportunities.
Clay Stewart - Believed in me no matter what!
Jim Stevens - Taught me the value of form, method, structure, and organization
Olga Hendzelyuk - Trusted me when I took the initiative on new projects with the Financial Management Association
Professor Stephen Kamp - Never stopped challenging me to meet the highest of expectations he set for the Financial Management Association
Professor Norman Roessler - Taught me about "Memento," "Holy Mountain," culture, tolerance, friendship, and new perspectives
Professor Siegel - Gave me numerous opportunities to hone my business strategy presentation skills on unique case studies. “Don’t forget about Porter’s Five Forces!”
Lucas Pfaff, Tzuo (Joe) Wang, Ben Iliopoulos - When facing overwhelming project requirements and unrealistic deadlines, you are the ones that had my back
Paul Pace - For reminding me where I've been before
Chris Callanan - Thanks for the interview and giving me a chance to prove myself
Lindwood Wilmer - Thanks for the interview and giving me the chance to prove myself
Tim Scanlan - Thanks for the interview and giving me a chance to prove myself
Tim Douglass - Thanks for the interview and giving me a chance to prove myself
Sam Tropio - Thanks for welcoming me to Delaware Investments and taking me under your wing
Stephen R. Covey - His book “7 Habits For Highly Effective People” has been such a help that I wanted to thank him
Steve Pavlina - The insights you wrote about in your blog at http://www.stevepavlina.com/ regarding time management and productivity helped me juggle numerous responsibilities while I was at school.


If your name was not included, it was not intentional. I could spend hours writing a list of thank yous. There have been so many people that have helped me along the way. I thank you all.

With my next blog entry, I will return to the topics of money, accounting, and finance.

Sincerely,
Trevor Stasik




Thank You, Temple University, Delaware Investments

Wisdom Gained From The Job Search

Hello, it’s been a long while. I know that I have been neglecting my blog of late but I have a good excuse. I have been focusing my energy on the new job. However, since I have been spending all this time now in gainful employment, I should at least provide you with some of the job search wisdom I gained during the last 6 months.

PERSISTENCE: I think that the most challenging thing about the search was the rejection by prospective employers. During my search, I had to tackle over 300 applications and 70 interviews before finally connecting with my new job. The saying goes, "if at first you don't succeed, try again." the saying should be modified to "if at first you don't succeed, try again SMARTER." Continue to push forward, but learn, evolve and adapt. Try new techniques and methods to achieving your goals.

MARKETING YOURSELF: Have you ever bought something after seeing a really interesting advertisement in the newspaper? Have you ever bought an item based on the recommendation of a friend? You should consider the job search process as an exercise in self-marketing. Your resume, blog, voicemail, job application, and even your personal relationships act as advertising for you. Be tactful and professional, but assertive in getting your name out there. Other people need to know that you are an available, quality solution to their staffing needs before they will consider you for a position.

INTERVIEW PREPARATION: With each interview that I did, the better I got at preparing before the interview. Prior to an interview, you should make a list of possible questions that you may be asked. Then, using the STAR method, write out the answers to those questions. If you are asking yourself, "what's the STAR method," don't feel bad. When I went on my first interviews I didn't either. STAR is a way of answering questions in a way that reveals you as the talented person you know that you are. STAR, as taught to me by Janis Campbell, stands for situation, task, action, result. Answer the interviewer's questions by first describing the situation in one or two sentences, providing the time, place, and your job. The task should follow next, describing the challenge you faced. Action is the most important step. The action step describes in summarized detail the process and activities you did to solve the problem. (Note: talk about what you did, not what the group did) The final step is the results section. In this section you must provide specific facts and figures about the impact of your contributions.

THANK-YOU NOTES: Handwritten thank-you notes go a long way in the hiring process. E-mail is more convenient, but that is why it fails to show your genuine appreciation. Thank-you notes can show a recruiter that you care.

Conclusion:
Ultimately, these are just a few of the things that I learned about during my job search. It can be a challenge, but new paths and ideas can be found. Time permitting, I will return to this subject again in the future. I wish you all the best of luck in your endeavors.

Please drop me a comment sometime.
- Sincerely, Trevor Stasik






Job Search, Persistence, Interview